Dusky Friarbird
Encyclopedia
The Dusky Friarbird is a species of friarbird
in the honeyeater family
Meliphagidae. It is a drag brown bird with pale undersides. The area around the eye is bare and pink. It is around 30 cm long. The species is mimicked by the Dusky-brown Oriole
, which is almost identical in appearance, a situation that has arisen in many species of oriole
s and friarbird
s that exist in the same habitat (Diamond 1982). This is thought to reduce aggression by the friarbirds against the smaller orioles. It is endemic to the island of Morotai
(there are also unproven records on Bacan
) in North Maluku
, Indonesia
.
Its natural habitat
is tropical moist lowland forest
s and tropical moist shrubland
. The species is tolerant of habitat degradation and has been observed living in coconut plantation
s. It isprobably threatened by habitat loss, as much of the remaining forest in its range is threatened with logging, but more research is needed.
Friarbird
The friarbirds are about 15 species of relatively large honeyeaters in the genus Philemon. Additionally, the single member of the genus Melitograis is called the White-streaked Friarbird. Friarbirds are found in Australia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and New Caledonia...
in the honeyeater family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Meliphagidae. It is a drag brown bird with pale undersides. The area around the eye is bare and pink. It is around 30 cm long. The species is mimicked by the Dusky-brown Oriole
Dusky-brown Oriole
The Dusky-brown Oriole is a species of bird in the Oriolidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, which is almost identical in appearance, a situation that has arisen in many species of oriole
Oriole
Orioles are colourful Old World passerine birds in the genus Oriolus, the namesake of the corvoidean family Oriolidae. They are not related to the New World orioles, which are icterids and, belonging to the superfamily Passeroidea songbirds, are quite unrelated to the true orioles.The orioles are...
s and friarbird
Friarbird
The friarbirds are about 15 species of relatively large honeyeaters in the genus Philemon. Additionally, the single member of the genus Melitograis is called the White-streaked Friarbird. Friarbirds are found in Australia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and New Caledonia...
s that exist in the same habitat (Diamond 1982). This is thought to reduce aggression by the friarbirds against the smaller orioles. It is endemic to the island of Morotai
Morotai
Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...
(there are also unproven records on Bacan
Bacan
Bacan refers to a group of islands in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia and to that group's largest island. The islands are mountainous and forested. The islands lie south of Ternate and west of Halmahera's southernmost arm...
) in North Maluku
North Maluku
North Maluku is a province of northeastern Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and the province of Maluku. Maluku province used to cover the entire group...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is tropical moist lowland forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s and tropical moist shrubland
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...
. The species is tolerant of habitat degradation and has been observed living in coconut plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s. It isprobably threatened by habitat loss, as much of the remaining forest in its range is threatened with logging, but more research is needed.